Regime’s move to ban death by stoning is ‘advertising stunt’

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Critics say much of the new code is 'propaganda' designed to counter international criticismBehrouz Mehri/AFP/Getty Images

Martin Fletcher

Last updated at 8:15PM, February 13 2012

Iran has approved a new penal code that appears to abolish the sentence of
death by stoning and bar juvenile executions, but the regime’s critics
insist that it does neither.

The revised code suggests the regime has been shaken by the global
condemnation of its human rights record and the stoning
sentence passed on Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani for alleged adultery. But
opposition activists said yesterday that, while some provisions represented
a small improvement, much of it was designed to deceive.

“Despite the spin put on it by the Iranian media, Iran’s new penal code does
not address international human rights